Wisconsin Judicial Commission Head to Gableman: You Lie

At today’€™s hearing before the three-judge ethics panel convened to determine whether Supreme Court Justice Mike Gableman should be disciplined over a false (and racist) campaign ad he launched against then-Justice Louis Butler, the head of the Wisconsin Judicial Commission summed up Gableman’€™s notorious ad:

”Let’s say what it is – it’s a lie,” James Alexander said.

Gableman was not at the hearing, but his attorney sought to have the complaint tossed on the basis that Gableman has a first amendment right to mislead the public about his opponent.

Putting aside the first amendment issue, what does it say about Gableman that his defense involves his right to distort the truth?

Let’€™s not forget: Gableman told us that although a One Wisconsin Now investigation in 2008 showed that as District Attorney he had made dozens of calls in the weeks prior to a fundraiser he hosted for then-Gov. Scott McCallum to McCallum’€™s staff fundraisers and numerous donors to the fundraising event, that the calls weren’€™t political.

Making fundraising calls from a state office is illegal. Doing it dozens of times would be mondo-illegal.

One Wisconsin Now asked both JB Van Hollen and Gableman’€™s mentor Sean Duffy to investigate, but they covered for their fellow Republican Party officers and successfully helped Gableman run out the clock in being prosecuted for misconduct.

And again, Gableman insisted he didn’€™t lie, or by extension mislead.

Well, not in that case, at least.